JOE MATOUK

How would you define yourself as an artist? I define myself as digital art artist .

Why are you an artist, and when did you first become one? Being artist or actually people calling you an artists is not something you control , its what you do that makes people either call you an artist or not, when you do art, you don’t really know if its art or not because its something you are used to so you cant tell the difference till the people around you tells you this is an art, as for when i first become one ? As long as i remember i had the love for drawing, i took that love from my father watching him drawing.

What art do you most identify with? I would say digital art

What themes do you pursue? I like to create my own theme, feel and look something different, even different to me.

What inspires you to work? Free time

Favorite Color: black

Favorite Book: losing my virginity (Richard Branson)

Favorite Movie: its all gone -pete tong

Favorite Food: Arabic food

Favorite Quote: work only on your deeds so that your name will be out and reach to the ears of the people who hurt you in the past.

Can we talk a bit about your process at the beginning of a project? How do you conceive of it? How do you build it in your mind before you start?I dont, i just start, and if am concentrating it all comes in the right moment while am working, if i get stuck at some point, i type the last thing i had in hand on google images and see what comes, if the last thing i was working on was a bird i type bird and see the results and most of the time i find the inspiration for the next move.

Do you suffer for your art? For me i dont, as i dont take it as a profession, its something i like to do from time to time and for interesting projects that i feel its new to me and challenge me to do something i didnt do before. You seem to use a lot of symbols in your work. Do your works tell stories or are they simply decorative elements of the project? All the work i do if you look closely to it , there is a story and most of the time its about good and evil, about characters and personalities.

Should art be funded? Why? I dont think it should be funded , it will not be an art if it did, but it could help to be valued. To be appreciated with the amount that justifies the artist. mostly after the work is done and not before. No artist like to get paid in advance for a work he is about to do, it feels much better if he sell the art he did after its done, not for the money but for the feeling that it reached the heart of someone that is welling to pay for it , not sure if you got what i mean!

What famous artists have influenced you, and how? To be honest with you, i dont follow any, or familiar with artist that i could say has influenced me, as I mentioned before its something i do from time to time and i always prefer to get things from my head and not any other places.

What other interests do you have outside of art? I have a huge interest in photography

How would your life change if you were no longer allowed to create art? No one can stop you from creating art , art is something you can create anytime anywhere , maybe in some different form depending on your surroundings , artists always adapt to what they have in hand and work with it.